Friday, April 30, 2010

"Professional" Me

Draft:
























Composition:
pink dress (H&M)
high heeled Mary Janes (Michael by Michael Kors)

Usage:

This outfit saw me through my Master's defense.  It did a spendid job of calming my nerves and making me feel confident. 

Like Liz, I wanted to wear something that was completely me, but I did want to present "professional" me.  This dress has a traditional cut and more structure than some of my other, more feminine pieces that I considered wearing.  However, the bright fushia color gives it that hint of drama, femininity, and fun that I really wanted to feel good about myself.   Also, it fits well, flatters my shape, and is extremely comfortable.

Obviously, I knew I would wear high heels, seeing as they are my fashion talisman.  I chose these Mary Janes.  I'd been looking for a pair of high-heeled Mary Janes forever, and this year I finally found these.  Patent leather, super high, and (mistakenly) marked down 50% (which they did grant me).  In other words, everything I could have ever wanted in a shoe.  These are one of my favorite pairs of shoes, and they are also one of the most comfortable pairs of heels I have ever worn, especially given their height.

If I'm completely honest with myself, I'm not entirely sold on the combination of this dress and these heels.  But I really wanted to wear the heels, and I didn't want to change the dress, and even though I had considerable time to change, I just went with it.  Next time I wear the dress, though, I'll probably pair it with different shoes.

I have a nervous tendency to play with or flip my hair.  I didn't want to pull it completely back, but I did want to get it off my face so I wouldn't be tempted to fiddle with it, so I used a headband to secure it back.  Worked perfectly.  I didn't touch my hair at all during the defense.

All in all, a good experience, which the clothes helped and enhanced.

Prompts:
  • Should this be "Mary Jane's last dance" with this dress?
  • Do you count on color, cut, or both to feel feminine?  Or do you use something else to enhance your femininity?
  • Do you ever use fashion to head off bad habits, like my headband trick?

4 comments:

Scholar Style Guide said...

I thought I had commented on this a while back, but evidently not! So I'll try again.

I love the idea of the headband as a way of derailing the hair-flip tendency. I have sometimes been known to wear my hair up to avoid fiddling with it, but I kind of like the headband strategy better.

Also, I wonder if the shoe doesn't look right to you because the dress is so mono-chromatic? I think if you wore, say, a black belt instead of the pink one, it would tie the shoes into the look nicely.

And finally, though I don't imagine Michael Kors's shoes are actually imbued with any of his sass, I kind of wish I'd thought to wear something Kors to my defense. I could have mentally figured them as a sort of talisman (to use your word) to summon up the sincere conviction and confidence he feels about his own ideas. : )

-Liz

Anonymous said...

I would go for a black belt and the shoes as well. Lovely dress!

Anonymous said...

I love your high heel maryjanes. You wear them barefooted for a more updated style.

Anonymous said...

I would love to spray cum all over that pretty dress